Business success follows sports success at George Wythe
• By JIM CUNNINGHAM | Staff
• Sep 18, 2017
It started out with a man trying to help his stepdaughter cope with a serious disease. That man later founded a company, and soon that company will be helping countless people deal more effectively with a similar ailment.
Sterling Crockett founded a company called AGRiMED, and it was recently awarded a license to operate as a grower-processor of medical marijuana in the state of Pennsylvania.
While growing up in Wytheville, Crockett went by Chris. (His full name is Sterling Christopher Crockett). He graduated from George Wythe High School in 1980 after having had successful stints on several high school sports teams. But he excelled the most in basketball and discontinued playing all other sports to concentrate on basketball when he became an upperclassman.
At one time, Crockett held the school record for most points – 42 – in a basketball game. That record fell not too long after when Maurice Johnson scored 43 points in a game. During his senior year, he was the No. 2 player in the entire state in scoring and in rebounding. Crockett is in the Wythe County Sports Hall of Fame.
Crockett went on to enjoy four years of collegiate basketball that served as a prelude to much continued success in the business world. Before founding AGRiMED, Crockett has started up and run numerous small businesses that did very well.
Crockett said his love of small businesses was planted in him by his father, who owned a small business in Wytheville. Later he went into a business partnership with his uncle, Scotty. The company ended up hiring 340 people. He and his wife, Florence, started up a construction company that after five years, generated more than $12 million dollars. One of its customers was the Pentagon.
The company secured a $16.5 billion contract from the government and provided services to disabled veteran contractors and provided field supports in Iraq, Afghanistan, German and Africa.
His founding of the company AGRiMED came as a result of trying to relieve the symptoms of his stepdaughter, Nicole. She had tumors on her kidney and had to have one of them removed.
“I was in a desperate situation,” explained Crockett, “I’m a person of action.”
So he taught himself how to make a tincture solution using cannabis. It quickly relieved Nicole’s suffering from chemotherapy.
“It (the tincture) turned the tables,” said Crockett. “The weight loss stopped,” and she began to feel better.
Nicole has now been married more than 10 years and has not had to use the tincture for over six years.
“Thank God she has not shown any new tumors for over six years,” he said.
George Wythe High School basketball head coach Pat Burns said Crockett kept getting better every year he played on the varsity team.
“He was like a young colt,” he said. “All legs and all arms…I could see that he had a lot of potential in basketball.”
But Burns didn’t feel like Crockett was trying that hard.
“Chris was kind of floating,” he said. “He was very articulate, but he was not a hard worker. He wasn’t applying himself…I changed his way of thinking.”
Crockett agreed: “I credit him with shifting my expectations. I was a pretty unmotivated kid…He told me, ‘hey listen, there are opportunities that are available to you.’”
Crockett said he began to change after that. His grades got better. He accepted a scholarship to attend and play basketball at Ferrum College, which was then a two-year junior college.
He did very well in his first year at Ferrum. But he faced a roadblock going into his second year. The money was no longer available; he called Burns and told him that he would have to drop-out and miss his sophomore year.
Burns told him to wait before he made a final decision. Burns got on the horn. The first person he called was Dr. Brock Hughes. Burns said that Hughes was a sport enthusiast and especially liked basketball.
He was hoping to get a few people to make a donation. Turns out he didn’t need it. The doctor told him, “I will pay for his sophomore year.”
Hughes told Burns not to mention his good deed, and Crockett didn’t know who paid his final year’s tuition until years later.
Crockett returned to Ferrum College, continued with his good grades, and led the team to the National Junior College Tournament.
Crockett was noticed by college scouts and offered a scholarship to Iona University, located in New York. He was the first basketball player from George Wythe High School to play for a Division 1 college team. He played on the Iona University basketball team for two years and graduated with a B.A. degree in economics and computer science. Crockett said the athletic teams placed a lot of value on academics.
“Everyone on the team graduated.”
“I benefited hugely from Iona,” continued Crockett. “They set standards high…and they have a pretty supportive alumni.”
The values, work ethic and success he has today, Crockett said, can be traced back to his youth growing up in Wytheville.
“I had support from my community,” he said, “and not just from people that looked like me. For me, Wytheville was a wonderful place.”
He also said he learned a lot from playing sports. If a ref makes a bad call, he said you learn to move past it.
“There’s a reason why athletes are good in business: they become accustomed to push through things that they cannot control…you need to focus on what God blessed you with. Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent, and those who specialize in excuses are seldom capable of anything else.”
Crockett and his wife have lived in Maryland for the past 28 years, but he returns to Wytheville on a regular basis to visit relatives and friends. He also speaks to local community and church groups on occasions.
Burns said Crockett has asked him to join him on a speaking tour to talk about the importance of education, motivation and other important matters. The coach agreed to do that.
“He (Burns) was one of my champions,” said Crockett. “I have stood on his shoulders, and there are a lot more people that helped me.”
Now he is taking it upon himself to return the favor.
http://www.swvatoday.com/sports/article_f1bbb...06a41.html
• By JIM CUNNINGHAM | Staff
• Sep 18, 2017
It started out with a man trying to help his stepdaughter cope with a serious disease. That man later founded a company, and soon that company will be helping countless people deal more effectively with a similar ailment.
Sterling Crockett founded a company called AGRiMED, and it was recently awarded a license to operate as a grower-processor of medical marijuana in the state of Pennsylvania.
While growing up in Wytheville, Crockett went by Chris. (His full name is Sterling Christopher Crockett). He graduated from George Wythe High School in 1980 after having had successful stints on several high school sports teams. But he excelled the most in basketball and discontinued playing all other sports to concentrate on basketball when he became an upperclassman.
At one time, Crockett held the school record for most points – 42 – in a basketball game. That record fell not too long after when Maurice Johnson scored 43 points in a game. During his senior year, he was the No. 2 player in the entire state in scoring and in rebounding. Crockett is in the Wythe County Sports Hall of Fame.
Crockett went on to enjoy four years of collegiate basketball that served as a prelude to much continued success in the business world. Before founding AGRiMED, Crockett has started up and run numerous small businesses that did very well.
Crockett said his love of small businesses was planted in him by his father, who owned a small business in Wytheville. Later he went into a business partnership with his uncle, Scotty. The company ended up hiring 340 people. He and his wife, Florence, started up a construction company that after five years, generated more than $12 million dollars. One of its customers was the Pentagon.
The company secured a $16.5 billion contract from the government and provided services to disabled veteran contractors and provided field supports in Iraq, Afghanistan, German and Africa.
His founding of the company AGRiMED came as a result of trying to relieve the symptoms of his stepdaughter, Nicole. She had tumors on her kidney and had to have one of them removed.
“I was in a desperate situation,” explained Crockett, “I’m a person of action.”
So he taught himself how to make a tincture solution using cannabis. It quickly relieved Nicole’s suffering from chemotherapy.
“It (the tincture) turned the tables,” said Crockett. “The weight loss stopped,” and she began to feel better.
Nicole has now been married more than 10 years and has not had to use the tincture for over six years.
“Thank God she has not shown any new tumors for over six years,” he said.
George Wythe High School basketball head coach Pat Burns said Crockett kept getting better every year he played on the varsity team.
“He was like a young colt,” he said. “All legs and all arms…I could see that he had a lot of potential in basketball.”
But Burns didn’t feel like Crockett was trying that hard.
“Chris was kind of floating,” he said. “He was very articulate, but he was not a hard worker. He wasn’t applying himself…I changed his way of thinking.”
Crockett agreed: “I credit him with shifting my expectations. I was a pretty unmotivated kid…He told me, ‘hey listen, there are opportunities that are available to you.’”
Crockett said he began to change after that. His grades got better. He accepted a scholarship to attend and play basketball at Ferrum College, which was then a two-year junior college.
He did very well in his first year at Ferrum. But he faced a roadblock going into his second year. The money was no longer available; he called Burns and told him that he would have to drop-out and miss his sophomore year.
Burns told him to wait before he made a final decision. Burns got on the horn. The first person he called was Dr. Brock Hughes. Burns said that Hughes was a sport enthusiast and especially liked basketball.
He was hoping to get a few people to make a donation. Turns out he didn’t need it. The doctor told him, “I will pay for his sophomore year.”
Hughes told Burns not to mention his good deed, and Crockett didn’t know who paid his final year’s tuition until years later.
Crockett returned to Ferrum College, continued with his good grades, and led the team to the National Junior College Tournament.
Crockett was noticed by college scouts and offered a scholarship to Iona University, located in New York. He was the first basketball player from George Wythe High School to play for a Division 1 college team. He played on the Iona University basketball team for two years and graduated with a B.A. degree in economics and computer science. Crockett said the athletic teams placed a lot of value on academics.
“Everyone on the team graduated.”
“I benefited hugely from Iona,” continued Crockett. “They set standards high…and they have a pretty supportive alumni.”
The values, work ethic and success he has today, Crockett said, can be traced back to his youth growing up in Wytheville.
“I had support from my community,” he said, “and not just from people that looked like me. For me, Wytheville was a wonderful place.”
He also said he learned a lot from playing sports. If a ref makes a bad call, he said you learn to move past it.
“There’s a reason why athletes are good in business: they become accustomed to push through things that they cannot control…you need to focus on what God blessed you with. Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent, and those who specialize in excuses are seldom capable of anything else.”
Crockett and his wife have lived in Maryland for the past 28 years, but he returns to Wytheville on a regular basis to visit relatives and friends. He also speaks to local community and church groups on occasions.
Burns said Crockett has asked him to join him on a speaking tour to talk about the importance of education, motivation and other important matters. The coach agreed to do that.
“He (Burns) was one of my champions,” said Crockett. “I have stood on his shoulders, and there are a lot more people that helped me.”
Now he is taking it upon himself to return the favor.
http://www.swvatoday.com/sports/article_f1bbb...06a41.html
